Just Give Me A Reason
by kimmmdonnn
Summary: 8 years. Years had passed since the two had last seen each other. They ended on somewhat good terms but with a hard goodbye. Now years later here they were meeting face to face in a moment of shock. Their past haunts them but they do the best to push it behind them. Damon wants her back but Elena is hesitant, so he'll settle for just one reason.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: Now

London, 2013

It came to her like a dream, an illusion that she couldn't quite grasp in her hands. Though it was real her mind wasn't making the connection between reality and the dream world she felt like she was in. She didn't take notice to the scalding coffee that was now staining her shirt or the voices asking if she was okay. She stared at the man who was staring at her with the same perplexed look taking charge of his features. She ran over the check list in her head, signs that this wasn't just a dream. She could hear the people around her though they passed in blurs, she could feel his strong hands around her wrists stealing her though they might as well have been a ghosts. For the life of her she couldn't think rationally, each logical thought being pushed out by a probable reason.

"Elena." The dream like state came crashing around her and he straightened up glancing down at her now soaked and stained shirt. The environment around her went from a dream like slow to a hyper speed confusion. Elena pulled the shirt away from her body and scoffed as it clung back to her stomach. "You okay?"

Elena's eyes snapped up and she instantly regretted it. She had hoped at the least the years would have been bad to him. She had imagined a beer belly and receding hair lines. But of course she always had to be proved wrong. The years had been kind, too kind. He was taller, muscles filled out his arms and torso and if possible his jaw line had become more pronounced thanks to the 5 o'clock shadow that graced his face. His dark hair had gotten longer and it suited him better now than all those years ago. It total Elena was wrong, the years had made him even more attractive than she imagined. "Yeah I'm fine, just fine."

"I'm sorry I didn't see you, let me but you an-."

"Another shirt?" Elena asked laughing and rolling her eyes. He was always like that, trying to find a solution to something unfixable and she didn't mind it, it was sweet but sometimes things weren't fixable. "It's good to see you Damon."

Elena pushed her way out of the coffee shop, ignoring the calls of her name, onto the busy London streets. She pushed her hair out of her face and turned to go to work. Her mind was still processing the idea of see Damon, she hasn't seen him since high school, in America where he said he would stay. When Elena finally got to her office building she darted through the lobby and waved her badge at the security guard and ran into the elevator. When she got to her level floor she quietly walked into the office and smiled at Charlotte, her assistant.

"What the hell happened to you?" Char asked handing Elena a few files. Elena sighed and walked into her office glancing at the picture hanging on one of her walls. It held a quote of one of her favorite writers, Shakespeare. He had told her that quote and it was that quote that thrusted Elena into her passion of writing. Of course she didn't peruse that, she got her doctorate in psychology and was now a world know psychologist but she also was a therapist. She worked with all kinds of patients but in all honesty her favorite were the trauma patients, she felt like she helped the most with them. Most people were reluctant to come to her. There's nothing wrong with me, our marriage is fine, I've moved on, they would lie. People didn't like to admit that they wanted help and she didn't mind the reluctance. With her degree in psychology she learned everything that makes people tick. She learned tells, what certain hand gestures meant and how to connect with her patients so they didn't think of her only as a doctor.

"Had all my pride and regrets spilled all down the front of my shirt." Elena smirked as she sat down at her desk and checked a few emails. "I ran into someone from my past."

"Ah the infamous running into an ex." Char said her accent running thick through her seriousness. Elena had to get used to all the accents and Char's in particular. Char was Irish and Elena could never take her serious because she didn't understand a word Char said.

"Never said it was an ex." Elena clarified checking today's schedule. She noticed that she didn't have many appointments and she was thankful for that. She enjoyed these slow days, it gave her brain a break.

"You have a new patient today, you need to diagnose her, prescribe medication and then decide if she need your therapy." Char said pointing to one of the folders she had handed Elena. "And honey your eyes told me it was an ex."

"Well stop reading my eyes and answer my calls." Elena gave her friend a smile and Char huffed walking back towards her desk in front of Elena's office. Elena pulled out the file on her most recent patient and started to get to work.

* * *

When Damon got back to his apartment he sighed and dropped his leather jacket on the coffee table ignoring the fact he always hung it and never just let it crumple. He never thought he'd see her again let alone a random Cafe in London, England. He had been here almost a month and visited that shop every morning and never seen her. For all he knew she was still in Virginia pursuing her writing career. Of all the places she could choose it would be London where he and his brother were trying to expand their law firm. A merger, Stefan had told him. Merge with Mikealson Law here and make it Mikealson and Salvatore Law. Damon didn't mind he thought it was a great idea but he wasn't to keen on having to travel to London all the time. But now here he was in the apartment Stefan and he stayed in during visits having a near mental breakdown because he saw her. Elena. He had told himself he'd never see her again not after that night, not after how easily they fell apart. He loved her, he really did and he always would and he could hear those final words in his head and he had hope and he hated himself for being sucked right back into her world. Damon huffed and ran his fingers through his hair, if he saw her again he'd stay clear. He wouldn't fall back into her regardless of the promises they made each other. He wouldn't fall for her, not again. The loud shrill of his phone brought him out of his daze and he looked down. Elijah Mikaelson, Damon was late.

When Damon strolled through the doors of Elijah Mikaelson's office he found a familiar brunette in the lap of his new coworker. Damon cleared his throat and knocked on the door. Two heads snapped in Damon's direction and the brunette's mouth fell open. "Hello Elena."

"Da-Damon? What are you doing here?" Elena seemed started and a bit frazzled. Damon was just surprised. Surprised that his Elena, correction Elena was sitting in the lap of the man he was going to be working with. It was extremely small world.

"You know Damon Salvatore?" Elijah's thick accent broke the tension between Elena and Damon's stare.

"We're-uh-old friends." Elena said smiling at Elijah and removing herself from his lap. "I'll see you tonight."

"Actually Niklaus and I are doing "brother bonding" so I will have to cancel on tonight." Elijah said using air quotes. Elena chuckled and kissed Elijah's cheek.

Elena gave Damon a small nod and picked her shoes up from one of the chairs. She slowly pulled her heals on and readjusted her top. Damon smirked, she was no longer wearing the cream color blouse from this morning, she had bought a new shirt since this morning. "I'll see you when you get home, Elijah. Is Caroline in Klaus' office?"

"Probably, most likely bickering on his schedule." Elijah chuckled.

"I still say we hook them up." Elena said while slipping on her blazer. "Good to see you Damon."

"You too." Damon muttered. Elena gave Elijah a nod and left the office leaving Elijah and Damon alone. "Elena Gilbert, small world."

"How do you know Elena, if you don't mind my asking." Elijah said standing up and gesturing for Damon to sit.

"We both grew up in Mystic Falls." Damon said and Elijah nodded. "How long have you two been together."

"Four years, though it took four just to get her to acknowledge my existence." Elijah chuckled while moving to take a seat next to Damon. "When's the last time you saw her?"

"8 years ago in May."

* * *

"Caroline! Caroline." Elena half whispered half shouted as she approached Klaus' office. As she got closer she could hear the two arguing inside and rolled her eyes and pushed the door open. Klaus' icy blue eyes turned toward her and gave her a glare. "The meetings starting and I need Caroline." Klaus huffed and rolled his eyes.

Caroline stared at Elena for a moment before turning her attention to Klaus who was trying to leave. "This isn't over, you're going to that gala." Klaus rolled his eyes and exited the room not giving another glance to Elena. "Okay why are you freaking?"

"Damon Salvatore is standing in Elijah's office." Elena said and Caroline's mouth fell open. "That's who their merging with, Salvatore Law Firm, I didn't make the connection until now, Damon fucking Salvatore." Caroline scoffed and exited Klaus' office and walked down towards Elijah's through the glass was a she could see the outline of the infamous Damon Salvatore and she stood frozen. She had been with Elena that entire relationship, the ups the downs and the hard goodbye. Klaus looked around Damon and gave Caroline a look to which Damon turned around to investigate. Caroline's mouth dropped again and Elena pushed her down the hall towards Klaus' office.

"That is not Damon Salvatore, that is a Greek god." Caroline chuckled. "Wow we were wrong, no beer gut." Elena rolled her eyes and pulled Caroline into Klaus' office. Elena opened Klaus' laptop and tried to find any information of Damon Salvatore.

"The Salvatore brothers grew up in a small town I'm Virginia before older brother, Damon, started school at Harvard, Stefan followed in his older brothers footsteps one year later. After school Damon started to build their Law Firm and now are beginning to expand-." Elena started reading and started to skim the article more. Caroline came down and sat down next to Elena. "Salvatore has gone in and out of relationships but his longest was with model Katherine Pierce but ended when Pierce passed earlier last year."

"Okay stop." Caroline said shutting the laptop and looking at her friend. "We don't care about Damon, we said if you saw each other again, maybe under the right circumstances but it's not a good time so no Damon." Elena nodded and pushed away from the desk and let her head fall into her hands. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I have Elijah and my practice and I'm happy. I shouldn't let him affect anything." Elena said standing up and looking for her purse. "Shit my bags in Elijah's office." Caroline smiles and pulled Elena towards Elijah's office and pushed her in. Elena rolled her eyes and huffed but then smiled at the three men in the room.

"Yes, darling?" Elijah asked. Elena walked further into the room and opened one of the cabinets letting the men keep talking. Elena looked around the cabinet and didn't see her purse. She turned around and Elijah held her bag out for her. Elena smiled and took it and began to leave. "Love, we have a question a psychologist might be able to answer."

Elena stopped and turned to look at Elijah raising an eyebrow. "We have a case and the man is clearly guilty but we were thinking maybe there was something wrong mental wise."

"You want to see if I can diagnose him?" Elena asked and all three men nodded. "Can I see what you have on him?" Elijah handed her the file and Elena started to read through it while taking a seat on the edge of the desk. "Didn't feel like he was in control of body, hard to tell fact from fiction, anxious and suicidal. This could be a number of things, I need to speak with him."

"When are you available?" Elijah asked watching as Elena flipped through the file.

"Well this evening, since your brother bonding." Elena said.

"Great, Salvatore will accompany you."

* * *

"How'd the meeting go?" Caroline asked once Klaus got back to his office. Klaus looked up at the the young blond and shrugged sitting down at his desk. Klaus opened his laptop and scoffed at what was on the screen. An article on Damon Salvatore. He looked up at Caroline and smirked. Caroline looked over at Klaus and noticed his peculiar expression.

"So, Barbie, tell me how do you know Damon Salvatore?" Caroline rolled her eyes at the old nickname and walked over to Klaus. She huffed when the article of Damon was still on the screen. "He was surprised to see you."

"We both grew up in Mystic Falls." Klaus raised an eyebrow. She wasn't telling him everything. Caroline sighed knowing he was just going to keep pushing her to tell him. "He was a year ahead of me and he and Elena dated for like ever."

"How serious were they?"

"They dated until he graduated college, which was 8 years ago, it was a hard good bye but I guess it was for the best. Then elena and I moved her only a few months later and then now here we are. She has her phd and he's a lawyer.

They dated for almost 6 years." Caroline said. "And in all honesty I don't think Elena stopped loving him."

"This was when you were dating Tyler?" Klaus asked and Caroline nodded. Klaus had met Caroline right when she and Elena moved here at the time she was dating some boy from back home and Klaus had even met him on a few occasions but he didn't like Caroline dating. He wanted her for himself because he had fancied her since she moved here.

"Damon and Elena were closer than Ty and I ever were and all of us thought they would get married despite the fact they hated each other more than they cared about one another. There relationship may not have been perfect but they loved each other." Caroline said sitting in a chair across from Klaus. Klaus watched her and considered telling his brother about this but decided against it if Elena wanted to tell him she would. "It was 8 years ago though they were only kids she was 16 and he was 18, when they started dating, none of us were smart enough to know what real love was."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Then  
Mystic Falls, 1999, Junior Year

"Please tell me you can fill in for Becca Wadel." Elena looked up at Caroline who had a frantic look on her face. Elena on the other hand looked plain exhausted. Caroline took in the bags under her eyes and her pale skin, she had been crying recently. Caroline looked up at Stefan who was watching Caroline.

Elena sighed and looked back at Stefan grimacing as she took in how normal and calm he looked while her on the other hand was having a mental breakdown. "Not now Care, I can't even think about cheer leading." Caroline gave Elena a small nod and a looked that explained they would be talking later. Elena turned back to Stefan who avoided her eyes. "Jer and I will be over to get our stuff out of the boarding house, looks like aunt Jenna will have to come back."

"Elena." Stefan started but Elena held up and hand and shook her head. Stefan sighed.

"You parents are our godparents if a blood relative wants to step in they can and I want her to, I'm not staying in the same house as you." Elena stood up and left before Stefan could reply. She didn't want to hear it. She walked to her locker and huffed when he walked over to his, which just had to be next to hers.

"Why do you look like someone shot your puppy?" He asked leaning against the lockers to look at her.

"Not in the mood today, Damon." Elena said grabbing a book and slamming her locker shut.

"Oh god forbid the princess isn't happy."

"Cry me a river."

"If I did you'd drown me in it." Damon snapped glaring at Elena. They had never gotten along and it got worse when they lived under the same roof. Elena froze and let her eyes slowly meet his. "Too soon?"

Elena tried to pinpoint when their mutual hatred started and she guessed somewhere around when her parents died. He blamed her . He had always been closer to her parents than his and when they died he took it the hardest and because she was driving the car she was blamed. "I hate you."

Damon rolled his eyes and walked off but Elena wasn't going to have anything. She yanked his arm and forced him to look at her. "You can't hate me for something you caused or do you forget you were driving the other car? You can hate me all you want for anything else but you caused that crash." Damon stared at Elena angrily and then reached around her neck. Elena feared the worst, him strangling her but she was caught off guard when his lips fell onto her. She didn't fight him though she fell into the kiss and gasped when his lips were ripped from hers. She opened her eyes just in time to see Stefan throw a fist at Damon.

"Don't kiss my girlfriend!" Stefan yelled and pushed Damon against the lockers. Damon pushed his younger brother off him and pushed him into the lockers across the hall. Elena rushed over and tried to break them apart.

"Not your girlfriend, you cheated remember?" Stefan glared at his brother. "Oh yeah I heard that little spat last night. You'll just have to forgive me for that kiss, it was a heat if the moment. You know what they say, think line between lust and loathing." Damon pushed away from his brother and trudged down the hallway leaving Elena and Stefan in shock. Elena looked around the hallway and noticed a few eyes on them. Stefan stared at her and gave a sharp nod before heading in the opposite direction of his brother

* * *

"Did you kiss Damon?" Bonnie asked catching up with Elena. Elena spun on her heel and slapped Bonnie. Caroline gasped and pulled on Elena's arm. Caroline stared at the two of them; Bonnie holding her cheek and Elena fuming.

"That's for sleeping with Stefan." Elena growled. Elena reached out and slapped her again. "And that's just for being a bitch." Elena yanked away from Caroline and left.

"What the hell was that?" Caroline asked running after Elena. Elena huffed and turned to look at Caroline. "She slept with Stefan?"

"Oh for six months now because I haven't been putting out since my parents died." Elena said her voice cracking. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes and the tightening in her chest. Caroline wrapped her arms around Elena and Elena let it out sobs breaking through her chest. She ignored the fact that they were in the courtyard and everyone was staring at them. She cried for everything that had been happening, her parents death, the kiss, Stefan and the weight of the world.

"Ms. Gilbert, please come with me." Elena pulled away from Caroline to meet the dark eyes of Mr. Tanor. She glanced at Bonnie who was standing behind him. Elena huffed and followed him to the main office. In the office sat Stefan and Damon. Stefan had a forming black eye and Damon had an extremely red nose that appeared to have been bleeding. Tanor pointed at the two chairs between Damon and Stefan and Elena and Bonnie sat in them.  
"I'm calling your parents, this school does not tolerate violence."

Once Tanor was gone and out if sight Elena turned to Damon who had his head leaning against the wall and his eyes shut. "Why do you have a bloody nose?"

"Ask Stefan." Elena sighed and Damon huffed. He sat up straighter and looked at Elena who was watching him. "I shouldn't have kissed you."

"I know." Elena said. She looked over at Stefan who was being comforted by Bonnie. "Do you remember when you kissed me when I was 7?" Damon nodded. "I told you I was going to have to marry you and you said you'd kill yourself, I thinks that's when the bickering first started."

"It's gotten out of hand." Damon chuckled lightly.

"I'm sorry about this morning, I was angry and I took it out on you." Elena whispered. Damon shrugged and gave her a nod. When he didn't say anything she looked at him and noticed his eyes filling up with tears. She has known Damon a long time and he never cried not even at the funeral.

"You shouldn't apologize, I pushed you and anyway you were right." Damon said and Elena sighed and shook her head.

"No I wasn't, it was no ones fau-."

"I don't want to talk about this Elena." Elena quieted herself and gave Damon a glance. He had been right about this morning, it had been a heat of the moment, there was no other explanation. Of course Elena usually didn't go around kissing people when she was angry but Damon was different. He pushed his anger out through physical actions and he couldn't exactly hit Elena. Elena was about to speak when Giuseppe and Isabella walked in. Elena watched as Giuseppe looked at each one of the kids he was caring for.

"Would one of you like to explain this?" He asked looking at Damon and then to Stefan. When his eyes landed on Elena her heart sunk. Within his eyes was something she never wanted from him, disappoint.

"Ask Stefan, father, this all goes back to him." Damon said glancing at his brother. Stefan scoffed and rolled his eyes sitting up straighter.

"I'm not the one who made out with his brothers girlfriend." Stefan snapped and Isabella gasped smacking Damon across the back of his head.

"Ex." Elena said giving Stefan a pointed look. "We broke up last night and for the reason ask Stefan." Isabella quickly apologized to Damon and then gave Elena a sympathetic look.

"I cheated on Elena. Okay! I know that's what everyone wants me to admit to." Stefan said and Giuseppe sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. "But why don't you ask Elena what she did to Bonnie."

Damon glanced at Elena it finally hitting him that she wasn't just here to comfort him. Elena met his eyes for half a second before looking at Giuseppe. "I slapped her because she's been sleeping with Stefan for six months and looked at me in the eye and acted like nothing was up."

"Maybe you should have realized that he didn't love you! Maybe you should have realized he was only with you because you had just lost your parents. Maybe you should have realized you never pleased him in bed." Bonnie snapped and Damon witnessed something snap within Elena. Elena shoved Bonnie out of her seat and tackled her punching every thing she could hit. Bonnie flipped them and hit Elena right back until Damon pulled Bonnie off Elena and pushed her in Stefan's direction.

"Here's your whore." Damon said and helped Elena off the floor. Bonnie had given her a black eye and scratched her face, a small trail of blood running down her forehead. Elena reached up and touched her forehead.

"You broke skin, bitch." Elena snapped and lunged towards Bonnie but Damon held her back.

"You attacked me."

"You slept with Stefan!"

"Girls!" Giuseppe's voice boomed and both girls froze at just this moment Principle Keaton walked into the room. "You two need to get it together, now I suggest."

* * *

"Suspended for a week." Giuseppe said. "Suspended! Do you three not realize how serious this is? The consequence could have been much more drastic but certain events were taken into consideration."

"If Stefan ha-."

"We're not playing the blame game, Damon, so stop." Giuseppe said glaring at his eldest son. "I am very disappointed in all three of you. You went raised like this. I want all three of you to go to your rooms immediately and then once you've had time to process we will have a family gathering." Without any hesitation the three made their way to their rooms but Elena stopped when Giuseppe called her name. "Your aunt Jenna called, she won't finish school until April but she has assured me that she'll be your guardian from then on."

"That's at the end of the year."

"She has her own life too, Elena. That's the plan, the deal we've made I'm sorry if it's to your inconvenience." Giuseppe said as left the room. Elena sighed. She understood and she didn't mind but she wasn't sure how much she could take living here. She's be avoiding Stefan at all costs for the next school year. She mentally made a note that she had 7 months left here in the boarding house.

Damon could hear Elena in her room. The walls were thick but not thick enough to drown out the sounds of her tears. When she moved in this spring he hated the fact she was going to be in the room next to him but she wasn't a bad neighbor. He resented her of course for her parents death. He loved Greyson and Miranda, the were more of a family than his own and it felt like she ripped it away from him. He didn't hate her but he couldn't look at her without thinking of her parents and she was also a reminder of what he did. So he teased her and let her tease him as a coping mechanism. But over the last month things had changed, he started to see her differently which was part of the reason he kissed her today. He couldn't explain it and he couldn't exactly say he liked it but he was attracted to her. So now here he was listening to her cry her heart out over his brother and he had to listen and hurt for her because he cared for her. A knock on his door brought him from his thoughts. He walked over and watched as Jeremy entered his room.

"Giuseppe wants to speak with you." When Damon went down stairs Stefan was sitting on the couch. He heard a stair squeak behind him and turned to see Elena drying her face. They all took a seat on the couch with Damon in the middle. Isabella and Giuseppe sat across from them sitting in the fancy chairs.

"Who wants to start this talk?"

"Why?" Elena looked up at Stefan who was looking at Damon. "Why'd you kiss Elena?"

"I wanted to. We were fighting and I just wanted to."

"Why'd you cheat?"

"Where did you think we were going Elena? We were falling apart and you didn't even realize it. We weren't going to be together forever." Stefan explained.

"Oh, you ensured that."

"We were distant and we weren't in love, not anymore." Stefan said almost pleading her to understand. Elena didn't meet his eyes and felt Damon's hand cover hers. She surprisingly didn't pull away and looked over at Isabella who was glaring at her son. Elena felt a long journey ahead of her but the strange thing was, she was glad Damon next to her. She felt support from him she hadn't felt since her parents does and she couldn't give a reason why she felt safe next to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Now  
London

Elena felt uneasy as she drove her mini into the parking lot of the prison. Damon said she'd meet her but she knew better than anyone that he wasn't always very punctual. She sat in the parking lot and instinctively checked her make up making sure everything was in place. To say she was nervous was an understatement and to say she felt like she was going to throw up was the correct assumption. After assuring that she looked missable she got out the car and made it towards the entrance. A few feet from the entrance she felt and arm being slung over her body. She glanced up at Damon who opened the door for her. "Wow on time and opening doors."

Damon have her a look and rolled his eyes waiting for her to enter the prison. "Things change Gilbert, people change. You've changed, a mini? What happened to that Mustang you wanted?" Damon mocked watching as Elena's mouth fell open in shock that he remembered small details about her life. Damon moved in front of her to check in and smiled warmly at the receptionist which caused Elena to roll her eyes. "We're here to visit Mr. Ellington."

"Visiting hours are over. Come back tomorrow." The woman said hardly giving Damon and second glance. Damon's jaw clenched and Elena chuckled moving him out of the way. The woman looked up at Elena and raised her eyebrow.

"I'm his physiologist and that is his lawyer by law you have to let us in, this is important for his trial." Elena smiled and showed her ID. Damon raised an eyebrow and stared at Elena. She really had changed over the years not only in looks but in every aspect. She was bolder, stronger and in a sense also quieter. In the looks department, Damon was shocked to see she had gotten even more attractive. Her long legs getting longer and her breasts getting fuller. She had grown into more of a woman than Damon had ever seen and he was pleasantly surprised , he enjoyed seeing her all grown up.

The woman behind the desk buzzed them in and escorted them to the interrogation/ meeting room. Damon let Elena sit and stood in the corner of the room waiting for Mr. Ellington. Elena laid out a few papers as Damon studied her. Her work ethic hadn't changed. She was still anal about organization and it made Damon chuckle. She also still bit her lower lip when she deep in concentration. If he looked close his Elena was still there, deep under this facade she had created for herself. He was determined to find his Elena again, he refused to believe she had changed so much.

* * *

"He's schizophrenic, which means something pushed him over the edge to attack this woman, I refuse he did it just out of hate. We need to do some digging on their past together," Elena said as she walked towards her car. Damon nodded and ran his fingers through his long black hair. When she got to her car she tossed the files into the backseat and turned to look at Damon who had barley spoken two words to her unless it was about the client.

"Come to dinner with me." Elena froze and looked up at Damon with hesitation in her eyes. Damon chuckled. "Come on, you're no interested in what the others been doing during these long 8 years?"

"Interested yes, wondering what your alterer motive is, yes." Elena said eyeing Damon and Damon chuckled. "Maybe some other time, I have to get home."

"And what wait around for Mr. Suit and Tie? What happened to you Elena, you never waited around for a guy."

"I waited around for you." Elena said eyeing Damon. Damon rolled his eyes and pulled Elena away from her car and pushed her into his. Damon walked around to the other side and slid into his BMW. He glanced at Elena who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"That because you were in love with me. You don't love Mr. Snazzy-pants, even I can see that." Damon said and started the car. Elena rolled her eyes and looked out the window. She pulled her phone out and sent an S.O.S to Caroline. "What happened to the girl who wanted passion, for every moment to keep her on her toes, for a man to sweep her off her feet."

"People change Damon."

"Not people like you, Elena. You were meant to stay that passionate girl who thrived for adventure and never took no as an answer." Damon said and Elena could help but feel that he was right. "You're the one who told me that dreams were meant to followed. As long as your passionate you'll get there. You were so passionate about writing. It was your world."

"People change Damon, they do and I've changed and sometimes, sometimes you have to let go of what you're passionate about because lets face it all passion gets you is a life full of empty dreams you said you'd achieve." Elena mumbled and looked out the window. As they passed restaurants Elena began to wonder where exactly they were going but she didn't want to ask because she knew Damon wasn't done arguing with her just yet. "Sometimes change is good."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night Lena." Damon mumbled. His mind flashing back to the night he told her he loved her. He told her to never change because if she did he would never feel the same about her as he did in that moment. She swore to him she would stay the same but he guessed promises were just meant to be broken too. "What broke you, what made you like this. The Elena I know never would have let herself become this person."

"That's the thing, I'm not the Elena you knew, the sooner you realize that the better."

"Give me a reason Elena, one reason to why you're so terrified of digging back in the past."

"I'm not terrified."

"Then what is this, Elena? Because it doesn't seem like someone who enjoys memories; it seemed like someone who's haunted by them." Elena didn't answer him she just turned away from him. She couldn't tell him, she swore to herself she would never tell him and she was going to stick to that. No matter how much it tore her apart inside, it would tear him apart even more and she couldn't do that to him. She refused to dig into the past because he was right it did haunt her, not their relationship but what came soon there after it ended. "I hate seeing you like this, I saw it this morning in the coffee shop, you're broken and I was hoping I'd be proven wrong but I wasn't and I would do anything to bring back the old Elena but I can't do that when she's buried under all this shit I don't know about."

"That's the thing Damon, you've always been good at fixing me but this time I can't be fixed."

* * *

"Elena?" Elena wiped the tears from her face when she heard Elijah enter the apartment. Elena straightened her outfit and wiped her face and took a few deep breaths. Elijah walked into the living room to find Elena on the couch. She smiled up at him and he furrowed his eyebrows knowing something wasn't right with her. "What's wrong?" Elena's smile faltered and she started to cry. Elijah walked over to her and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, seeing Damon it just brought somethings up that I had buried deep down." Elena said once she pulled away. She wasn't going to tell Elijah anything or at least that's what she had told herself when she began her relationship with him but now it felt like he had a right to know but she still knew she wasn't going to share anything, she couldn't. What would he think of her? "You think you can outrun the past but it always has a way to knock you on your ass."

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Elijah asked. Elena shook her head and leaned into Elijah's chest again.

"Right now I just want someone to hold and and tell me they're lucky to have me." Elijah smiled and stroked Elena's hair holding her close to him. Elena breathed in his familiarity and was glad to have him for times like this. He grounded her made her challenge herself while also being responsible but part of her wondered if Damon was right. Did she love him or were those only words to her?

"I am the luckiest man alive to be able to come home, hold you close and call you mine." Elijah whispered into her hair. "I love you."

"I love you too." As much as Elena hated to admit it the words felt forced and untrue. Elena pushed those feelings down, she was happy with Elijah, he loved her and she was lucky to have him. The moment was broken apart by Elena's phone ringing. Elijah chuckled and Elena pulled it out staring at the caller id. Caroline.

"Care."

"Are you okay? You sent an SOS and then never replied back to me." Caroline said. Elijah kissed the top of Elena's head and headed into the kitchen.

"I'm okay."

"Did you tell him?"

"Care, I'm not doing that, not to him." Elena said and fell into the couch. "Stefan and I made a deal, he hasn't wavered after all these years, why should I."

"It's not his burden."

"It is a burden to him. It wasn't fair of me to let him do that but I did and now he has to deal with something I should have been able to handle." Elena said looking over her shoulder checking to see if Elijah could hear her. "If I tell him and he finds out Stefan knew, he'll never forgive me."

"Damon has a right to know." Caroline and Elena sighed, she knew that but she couldn't let her childish mistakes get to her.

"I know he does."

"Why are you so scared?"

"Because I hid probably the biggest event of his entire life from him and I don't want to hurt him." The other end of the line was silent and Elena sighed. She felt the weight of the day crushing down around her and she felt broken.

"I'll stand by you whatever you choose to do, I'm here."

"Thank you Care."

* * *

"Why are you still at the office?" Caroline looked up to see Klaus walking in, still dressed in dress pants a shirt and tie. Caroline glanced at the clock and sighed it was almost midnight.

"Lost track of time I suppose." Caroline chuckled leaning back in her seat. Klaus watched her noticing how exhausted she looked. Klaus sat down on her desk and kept watching her until she slowly began to crumble. Caroline scoffed trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to break through. "I shouldn't be crying, this isn't my problem."

"What's wrong, love? What problem?" Klaus asked sliding off the desk and squatting in front of Caroline placing his hands on her knees. Caroline let the first tear escape as her thoughts traveled back to Mason Lockwood.

"With Damon back Elena is stressed beyond stressed and with me it just brings up memories of the young, naive Caroline." Caroline said and Klaus realized that Caroline was both stressed and tired. "I made so many mistakes in Mystic Falls. Elena and I came here to forget our pasts but with one blue eyed Salvatore all those memories came crushing down on me."

"Come on love, you're exhausted." Klaus said as he helped Caroline up from her chair.

"I dated his cousin, Mason, before Ty I dated Mason."

"There's nothing wrong with having a past."

"There is when you can't remember half of it." Caroline chuckled and followed Klaus out the building. When they got into Klaus' car Caroline closed her eyes. "Elena and I, we're two damaged girls with horrifying pasts. But you know what they day about running, it catches up with you eventually."

* * *

A/N: Some people had made comments about the flash back chapter. Every other chapter will be a flashback. This is a now chapter so the next will be a then. Also Caroline has a rough past as well it's what makes Caroline and Elena close they look to each other when hard times come because they were there for each other all those years ago. Spoilers.

1. Stefan and Rebekah will be introduced soon.

2. A big kiss happens.

3. Damon makes it his mission to see what Elena is hiding.

4. Caroline's past proves to be scarier than Klaus imagined.

Thank you for all the great responses. I'm loving writing this and I'm glad you're reading! Xx


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Then  
Mystic Falls, 1999, Junior Year

"Camping? You're taking us camping?" Damon asked bewildered. Elena sat on the couch next to him still half asleep. Stefan was staring at his parents with just as much confusion as Damon.

"Look, you three have the entire week off school and your father and I think that you need to hash out all these harsh feelings and it's not going to happen here with so many distractions. Our decision is final. Jeremy will go to Matt's and the five of us will go camping." Isabella said. The idea had been hers in the first place. It's what her parents had done to get her to bond with her siblings. In the woods you had to talk to one another, you couldn't do anything on your own, it forced conversations and that's just what these kids needed. They needed to talk it out and the family meeting the other day wasn't enough.

"I've never been camping a day in my life." Elena mumbled. Isabella sighed. She knew this was the reaction she was going to get. Damon looked at Elena, no she didn't look like the kind of girl to rough it. "Might as well try, right?"

"I'm not going camping." Stefan said standing up. Giuseppe shot his son a glare and Stefan sat down quickly.

"This isn't a discussion Stefan." Giuseppe said. "All three of you pack and be back down here in an hour." Elena pushed herself off the couch and walked up stairs with the boys on her heels. Damon walked into his room and pulled out his suitcase throwing in T-shirts and jeans. He could hear Elena complaining on the phone next door. He walked over to the wall and placed his ear on the wall.

"It's so stupid, this is all Stefan's fault so I don't see why I'm getting dragged into the woods with him and Damon. I'm done with these Salvatores. One cheats on me and the other is being oddly nice to me and I don't like that, he's supposed to hate me. Once Jenna finishes school I'm out of here." Elena said. Damon felt a twinge of hurt. She didn't care about him not like he had been feeling towards her lately. Damon pushed himself away from that wall that's what he gets for beginning to fall for his brothers girl. "No Care. I know Damon he pushes out his frustration though physical activity that's why there's a gym in the basement. That kiss meant nothing." Damon scoffed and walked away from the wall so he wouldn't hear her at all. He didn't want to hear her, he didn't care. When Damon finished packing he walked into Elena's room and held his hand out for the phone.

"My turn." Elena scoffed and said something to Caroline and hung up. She pushed the phone into Damon's chest and zipped her suit case. Elena dragged her bag out of the room and left the room. Elena reentered a few moments later and started to pack another bag. "Mase, it's Damon. Look you're not going to be able to reach me for the next few days so don't try and don't leave any messages." Damon hung up and handed Elena the phone. "By the way don't bring your make up or perfume, the animals love that stuff." Elena rolled her eyes and pushed Damon put the room throwing the phone at him. Damon just chuckled and picked the phone up from the ground.

* * *

Elena got put in the middle. The middle of two feuding brothers on a four hour car ride to the camp site Isabella chose. Damon put as much distance between their arms and shoulders as he could while Stefan made sure they were touching. Elena rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Isabella turned on the radio and Elena tried to focus on the music.

"When we get there I can help you pitch your tent since you've never done it before." Stefan said giving Elena a small smile. Elena stared at him for a moment before scoffing and looking away.

"I think I can manage." Elena said while looking out of the window at Damon's side. Damon looked over at Stefan and shook his head

"Look Elena you can't hate me forever." Stefan said placing his hand on her leg. Elena jerked away placing both of her knees against Damon's.

"Don't touch me." Elena snapped and leaned against the back of her seat. Damon chuckled and Elena watched as Stefan glared at his older brother. Elena closed her eyes and tried to force herself into sleep, of course that was short lived as Stefan placed his hand on her leg again. Elena practically threw his hand off her leg and unbuckled her seat belt. "Please switch with me?" Elena pleaded staring at Damon. Damon huffed and unbuckled himself. They stared at each other both realizing how they would have to switch. Elena maneuvered her way onto Damon's lap and Damon slid into her seat. Elena then slid off his lap and into the window seat all while Stefan fumed on the other side.

"Stop touching my girlfriend." Stefan practically yelled. Damon slowly turned to look over at Stefan and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry to break it to you brother, that ship has sailed; anyway maybe you shouldn't force yourself on her with your sticky little fingers." Damon snarked and looked through the front window. Giuseppe took a deep breath and focused his eyes on the road while Isabella watched them carefully.

"I wasn't for-."

"She told you to stop touching her." Damon retorted with a roll of the eye. Stefan huffed and looked to Elena for some support. Elena just looked away and looked out the window, trying to separate herself from their bickering. The car grew silent with tension so thick you could cut it with a knife but Elena kept ignoring it and eventually fell asleep.

Isabella glanced in the back seat to find both boys watching Elena sleep. She noticed Damon more than she did Stefan. Damon's look was gentle, kind while Stefan's was angry and confused. Isabella knew in that moment that the two boys cared for her more than Elena knew. "You two will be sharing a tent." Stefan's gaze snapped up to his mother. He looked angry. Damon looked over at her with a look she couldn't quite describe.

"Do you want us to kill each other?" Damon asked his mother. Stefan scoffed and rolled his eyes. Damon glared at his brother and then looked back at his mother whose face never faltered.

"Then figure out which one of you will be sharing a tent with Elena." The brothers grew silent. Damon glanced at Elena and then looked at Stefan whose face had fallen. Stefan knew who Elena would choose and it wasn't him. Damon sighed. He didn't want to share a tent with either of them in all honesty. Not after Stefan had been treating him and not after what Elena said about him.

* * *

"Elena and Damon go gather fire wood, Stefan help your father and I set up here." Isabella said. Elena glanced at Damon and followed as he headed out of the clearing they were in and into the woods. Damon started to search the ground for fire wood. Elena found a pretty big log and tried to pick it up. Damon glanced over at her and tried to contain his chuckles. "Elena, we're trying to find fire wood not trees."

Elena looked up at Damon and then back down at her log. She followed the length of it and realized he was right. This was a tree. "Right."

"I'll just tell you what to carry." Damon said handing her some larger branches she assumed they would break. Elena just followed Damon and held the wood. "What did Caroline say when you told her you were camping."

"She laughed, and told me that with my luck you boys will let me die out here." The words were out of Elena's mouth before she could even register that those words would hurt his feelings. Damon stopped walking and turned to face Elena. "I'm sorry, I didn't, I'm sorry."

"Why does Caroline assume we'd leave you to the wolves?" Damon asked narrowing his eyes. He noticed as Elena shifted uncomfortably.

"Because you hate me and Stefan doesn't really care, he just wants to be forgiven." Elena said and Damon's eyebrows furrowed. She was being honest with him and he was glad for that but pissed because of the thoughts she had about him.

"You think I hate you?"

"I know you do. You said it yourself, you blame me." Elena said her eyes revealing how much it bothered her. Damon watched her for a moment and chuckled. "Don't laugh Damon."

"Do you not understand that my resentment for you is because you're a living, breathing reminder of what I've done?" Damon asked her. "I don't hate you but every time I look at you there's pain. And I hate it because I've also let myself feel something for you. Something I shouldn't because you were Stefan's." Elena stared at Damon. She could tell he was heated, he never would have said that if he wasn't. "But you don't have to worry about it, I'm a big boy, I'll get over it." Damon watched her and Elena looked down. She cared for Damon, he was like family. Yes, the last months had been difficult but she cared. She was never interested in him in a romantic way and she didn't plan on it. She was done with the Salvatore brothers.

"I'm going to go find the camp." Elena whispered and left Damon feeling foolish. He never should have told her. He knew that's how she would react but it just came out. Damon chuckled and shook his head, Elena was right about what she had told Caroline earlier. She was done and Damon was going to let her go. Just because he had a crush didn't mean he'd let her crush him.

* * *

Damon ended up sleeping outside. He didn't mind necessarily but he did not want to share a tent with Elena or Stefan so he decided to pull an air mattress outside and slept. Was it comfortable? Not at all but it beat the other options. He could see the stars so easily out here and it relaxed him but not enough for him to sleep. He was extremely tired but in all honesty he couldn't go one night without having a nightmare. The accident clouded his thoughts and over took his actions. It haunted him and he only wished that these would end soon. He knew they wouldn't. His unconscious enjoyed to torment him. Damon was slowly pulled from his thoughts when there was rustling in one of the tents, Elena's. Damon's ears perked up and it sounded like Elena was waking up. There was a gasp and then what he thought sounded like a few choice words. Elena then exited her tent and tried to find her way to the cooler. Damon pretended to be asleep but watched her through half hooded eyes. Once she got to the cooler she pulled out a water bottle and downed it. She grabbed a flashlight and headed into the woods. Damon's eyes snapped fully open and watched as she walked off. He huffed and pushed himself out of his sleeping bag moving to follow her. As he searched the woods he ended up finding her sitting on the tree they had seen earlier. The flashlight was sitting next to her illuminating the trees she was staring blankly at. Damon ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "You shouldn't be out here, alone, at night."

Elena didn't even jump at the sudden intrusion. She just slowly turned to look at Damon. Damon noticed the tears running down her face and went to sit down next to her. "I thought you were sleeping."

"No. I haven't been able to sleep in days." Damon chuckled and Elena gave a slight nod. Damon watched Elena for a moment. He watched as the tears slowly and silently ran down her face. "Do you want to talk about why you're crying?" Elena shook her head and leaned into Damon. Damon reluctantly wrapped his arms around her. "You can talk to me."

"Can I?" She asked. It was sarcastic and harsh. "I don't want to remind you even more than I already do." Damon sighed and looked down at her. She was leaning against his chest as Damon held her.

"I didn't mean to say that to hurt you. I was angry, stressed." Damon said and Elena chuckled.

"You tend to be quite spontaneous when you're angry and stressed." Damon chuckled and whispered a yes. Elena pulled away from Damon and he stared at her. "Will it get better? The pain, the guilt, the self loathing, will it ever stop?"

"I'm not the one to ask." Damon whispered. Elena stared at him waiting for a better answer. "I can only hope that the nightmares will stop, I can only hope that I will stop feeling guilty, I can only hope I can learn to live with myself."

"Don't blame yourself Damon, you weren't the one driving drunk." Elena whispered. Damon closed his eyes and felt her hand caress his cheek. Damon didn't open his eyes though. He did blame himself. It didn't matter that Elena had swerved because she was drunk, he should have been paying better attention, he should have never hit that car. Damon pulled away from Elena and stared down at her.

"Are we even worth forgiving?" Damon asked and Elena sighed. We're they? Together they had killed two people, was that forgivable?

"The town has seemed to forgive us, I think the problem lies within each other, whether we can forgive ourselves." Elena whispered and Damon moved to look away from her big brown doe eyes. He stared at the trees that the flashlight illuminated. "We need to stop being so hard on ourselves."

"Elena we killed people." Damon said and Elena winced never hearing it so bluntly. "That's on our shoulders, if anything were being to easy on our selves."

"Do you really think that? That were being to easy on ourselves?" Elena asked and Damon shrugged watching Elena. "I think we're doing what anyone else would do, we're trying to move on I don't think that's being easy on ourselves."

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Damon asked her. Elena raised her eyebrow and opened her mouth to protest but Damon shook his head. "Just answer the question."

"I don't know, married maybe a kid or two. I hope I'm happy. I see myself happy." Elena said.

"You're already picturing a future where your parents are forgotten Elena, forgetting is hard but it's also easy a relief." Damon said.

"What do you want me to do Damon? That's all I know how to do because I can't live with this forever it will tear me apart." Elena said staring at him with a confused and shocked look.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't forget; all I'm saying is that maybe forgetting is taking the easy way out."

"You might be right." Elena whispered and looked down at her hands. She had been doing her best to forget and maybe the reason she was so messed up was because she was trying to forget instead of dealing with her problems. Elena looked up at Damon and studied his eyes. They were sincere but also full of hurt. "Maybe we should forget, maybe we should push through this. Together."

Damon watched her for a few moments before letting a small smile grace his lips. Elena gave a soft smile in return. "Together."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Now  
London, January 2013

There's a quote by C.S. Lewis that stated 'There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.' When Elena gathered the courage to leave her past behind this was the quote she lived by. There wasn't a day that she didn't say it to herself as her own motivational mantra. She once believed the words to be true, that you can change your future to be so much brighter than your past but there was always the looming dread that maybe C.S. Lewis was wrong and that maybe he never took in account of your past actions coming to haunt you. It had only been a week and yet Elena's life seemed even more jumbled than she ever expected it to be, not that she ever expected to see Damon Salvatore again. Elena let out a long sigh and glanced over at Elijah who was peacefully sleeping. Elena always admired that about him. Elijah was always able to separate his problems and priorities making his life smoother and well taken handle of. He never had a worry when he laid his head against the pillow at night, now his home life was specifically for Elena and for Elena only. He wouldn't bring his troubles home to trouble her and yet here she was, unable to sleep because she had demons of her own. Elena watched Elijah for a moment before crawling out of the bed and walking into the kitchen. She hadn't had insomnia in almost 11 years and this past week she had barely gotten 8 hours sleep total. She knew it wasn't healthy and she knew she should probably take a sleeping pill but she ignored everything. Ignored Damon and the memories he brought fourth from the shadows of her brain. Ignored the mistakes she had made. Ignored the gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach. Elena poured herself a glass of milk and sat at the island staring at the granite counter tops. She had half a mind to call Caroline and talk to her but she decided against it. Caroline had troubles of her own and Elena didn't want to burden Caroline with her's. After her glass of milk Elena went back to her and Elijah's room and pulled on a pair of jeans. She was careful not to wake Elijah knowing she had no answers to the questions she knew Elijah would ask. She grabbed a jacket on her way out, careful to shut the door quietly behind her. The streets were deserted, she expected nothing different at 3 in the morning. She stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets and started walking. She wasn't walking to anywhere in particular but she realized where her mind was leading her. She stood outside the coffee shop that started her fall from grace. The ironic thing was she always told him that maybe they'd see each other in a coffee shop years later and now the tragic truth of her words had come true. Elena stood staring at the window of the coffee shop when she felt her chest clench and her eyes water. She didn't want to cry, she refused to cry. Elena took a deep breath and walked away from the coffee shop and wandered the London streets. When she passed his apartment building she froze. Elijah had told her the address in case she needed to go back to the prison and he or Klaus weren't available. Elena stared at the building for a little longer before pushing open the doors and entering the lobby. She looked at the mail boxes and tried to find his apartment. It was, of course, the penthouse suite. Elena walked over to the elevator and made her way to the top floor. Once there Elena walked over to his apartment door and froze. She knew she was being foolish but at this point she had no control. She wasn't thinking straight and this was where her subconscious took her. Elena knocked on the door and then rang the door bell. She had to remind herself that he was sleeping and that this was an invasion of privacy. She shook her head and headed back towards the elevator when she heard the door open. Elena turned to see an exhausted looking Damon Salvatore.

Damon raised an eyebrow and took in Elena's appearance. She had large bags under her eyes and she looked utterly exhausted. Damon had seen her tired before but not like this. "Elena?" Elena stared at him for a few moments before bursting into tears. Damon rushed over and wrapped his arms around her. Elena sobbed and Damon lifted her into his arms carrying her into his apartment. "You're okay. Shhh. Shhh, you're okay."

"I'm not okay Damon, I'm not okay and I don't think I ever will be." Elena cried. Damon held her and stroked her hair. He didn't fully understand why she was so upset but he was almost certain that it played into the reason she left town in the first place.

"Just tell me what's wrong." Damon whispered into the top of her head. Elena shook her head and cried harder. Damon sighed softly and continued to comfort her. All he wanted was to help her to bring his old Elena back and to help her get over whatever was haunting her.

"I can't sleep again. All these memories came rushing back and my mind won't rest." Elena whispered after they had been sitting there for quite some time. She was starting to calm down and she seemed almost sedate. Too calm as Damon rubbed her back and her breathing slowed. Damon knew she was falling asleep and he smiled, proud of himself and his ability to calm her. "I never wanted to hurt you Damon. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hurt you."

Damon glanced down at her and then looked away. Whatever she was hiding, how ever big or small, she was terrified that it would hurt him. Damon had half a mind to stop his advances to learn her but the other half told him that he needed to know. Damon sighed lightly when he heard Elena start to snore lightly. He lifted her from his lap and carried her to his bedroom. He laid him in the large bed and ran his fingers through his hair sighing as he did so. Damon walked into one of the guest rooms and crawled into the bed closing his eyes and falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"Elena, love, where are you? Did you go into work early? You didn't take your laptop or the files you brought home. I'll be at work if you need either." Elena listened to Elijah's message and huffed loudly. "Is everything okay? You seem to be a bit distraught. I love you darling, see you at home." Elena placed her phone on the counter top and picked up the note Damon had left her. It was shot and simple letting her know she could stay as long as she wanted and that he would be home around 7. Elena picked up her phone and called Char.

"Elena Gilbert's office Charlotte speaking."

"Char it's me."

"Where are you? Mikaelson called this morning and asked if you came in early. I lied and said yes so please tell me there's a good reason."

"I'm at Damon Salvatore's, I could sleep so I left to walk the city, I ended up here. I'll be at the office in an hour can you hold down the fort until then?" Elena asked as she started to write Damon and note telling him where and when to meet her tonight.

"Of course." Char said and Elena hung up. She shoved her phone into her pocket and headed back to her and Elijah's place. Once there she got dressed for work and fixed her makeup. She couldn't believe that she had slept in to noon. She never did that, ever and now look at her. Running around like a crazy person because she had slept like a baby. Once Elena finally got to work Char stared at her. She knew what Char was assuming and right now she honestly didn't want to explain herself, not to Char not even to herself. She couldn't explain why she had let herself do that but she did and now she felt herself releasing old feelings for one Damon Salvatore but she swore she would never go back to him despite their promise. She couldn't drag him back into her hell.

* * *

Caroline Forbes was a strong woman. She prided herself with that fact. She hadn't always strong but she was a quick learner. To be strong you had to build walls, who ever cared enough to break down those walls was worth trusting others didn't matter. Her view on trust hadn't always been grim but there was only so much hurt someone could take before breaking. She was strong but as she pulled out a file with her name on it, she could feel herself crumbling. Why would Klaus have a file on her? Caroline stared at it for a few moments before stuffing it in her bag and exiting Klaus' office. Klaus on the other hand was approaching his office to see a frantic Caroline exiting it. Caroline watched him and continued her way out of the office building, she had to find Elena. She glanced behind her to see Klaus watching her with a confused expression. In this moment of brief distraction she walked straight into a hard chest causing her to drop her bag. All the contents fell out and Caroline instantly fell to her knees to push the file back into her bag before anyone noticed. "Fucking hell."

"Caroline Forbes, what would your mother say?" Caroline froze and looked up. Stefan Salvatore was dropping to his knees to assist her. Caroline gave him a bright smile. "Who's file are you stealing?"

Caroline glared at him and sighed as she finished putting her makeup bag and wallet into her bag. Stefan helped her up and raised an eyebrow. "It's not stealing if I have every intention to return it."

"Oh calm down your secret is safe with me." Stefan smiled and wrapped his arms around Caroline who instantly complied and returned his hug. Once Caroline pulled away she noticed Klaus standing there introducing himself. Stefan tore his eyes away from Caroline to introduce himself to Klaus. "Stefan Salvatore."

"You're Damon's brother, so you grew up with Caroline?" Klaus asked glancing at Caroline who was trying her best not to look suspicious. Stefan nodded and chuckled lightly.

"We went to school together, I used to date her friend." Stefan said and Caroline shook her head. One ex boyfriend was enough, the Mikaelson brothers didn't need to know that Elena dated brothers and that they were to work with both of them.

"He dated my friend Bonnie; Bonnie and I aren't really friends anymore though." Caroline said and Stefan raised an eyebrow at Caroline. Caroline looked around Stefan to see a frantic Elena rushing down the hallway trying not to trip in her heels.

"Care, we need to talk." Elena said once she was close enough. Stefan's back was to her so she didn't know how awkward this moment was about to be. "Sorry Klaus, I need her." Stefan turned and Elena froze, her body going ridged and her eyes going wide. Stefan smiled when he saw her and then let the smile fall from his face, she looked horrified to see him. "Fuck me." Elena whispered.

"You wanted to talk?" Caroline asked pushing Elena down the hallway. Elena glanced back and then let Caroline push her into the women's restroom. Caroline gave her an exasperated look and Elena sighed.

"I spent the night at Damon's." Elena said and Caroline's mouth fell open. Elena sighed. "I couldn't sleep and Elijah had given me his address. I didn't mean to go I kinda just showed up."

"Did you sleep with him?" Caroline asked staring at her best friend. Elena gasped and shook her head. "Well that's good, at least you didn't sleep with him."

"Why is Stefan here?"

"They're partners like Klaus and Elijah." Caroline explained and Elena nodded. Caroline pulled the file out of her bag and handed it to Elena. "I found this in Klaus' office. I plan on taking it back but." Caroline trailed off and Elena looked through the file.

"He did a background check, he probably did it years ago when he hired you." Elena said and flipped to the next paper. Her eyes widened and then she sighed. "He was digging. It doesn't say anything about the Lockwood incident but it has the dates you had to appear in court." Caroline sighed and took the file back, stuffing it into her bag.

"He can't find out Elena."

"And he won't, that information is frozen. Unless he worked the case or was your lawyer, he can't get access to them." Elena said and Caroline breathed a sigh of relief. The two exited the bathroom and made their way to Elijah's office. Caroline gave Elena a smile and continued to Klaus' office. Elijah looked up from his desk and smiled at Elena. Elena walked over at kissed him lightly.

"Why did you go in early this morning?" Elijah asked. Elena sat down on his desk and sighed. Before she could get a word out both Salvatore's entered the office. Elena took a better look at Stefan. He still had the boyish features but he had grown into himself. She could see the outlines of muscles through his while button down. His green eyes were still just as bright and he was even taller. "Would you mind staying? I need you to explain our clients condition to Stefan."

"Sure. And I'm I couldn't sleep so I just decided to go to work early." Elena said her eyes locked on Damon's. Damon smirked and took a seat. Elena glanced at Stefan who's eyes were locked on her. His eyes told her that the two of them needed to talk.

"I assume the two of you know each other already?" Elijah asked and Damon snorted. Both Stefan and Elena turned to glare at Damon. "Oh, well this just became extremely awkward."

"It really isn't. We've all moved on and it's in the past." Elena said and slid off the desk pulling a chair next to Stefan. "It was more than 8 years ago." Elijah just shrugged and moved to start working.

* * *

"We never did have the awkward exs conversation." Elijah said as he and Elena sat on the couch together. Elena rested her head on his shoulder and chuckled lightly. Elijah drew small circles on her arm with his fingers. There was a lot about Elena he didn't know but there was also a lot that he did. He trusted her, if she wanted to tell him something she would and if it was important to their relationship she would. "Who did you date first?"

"Stefan." Elena whispered. "We broke up about six months after my parents died, he was cheating on me. I guess the entire time Damon and me's relationship was growing it just took awhile for me to realize. We dated for about six years."

"You loved him?" Elijah asked and Elena nodded slowly. She didn't want to go into detail of how she never did really get over him. "I dated a girl called Tatia, she was beautiful. I loved her with everything I had but it turned out she played Klaus and me as fools. She had been with us both." Elena stared out the window. She knew what of felt like to be cheated on and have things hidden from you and yet here she was hiding many things from Elijah.

"What time is it?"

"7:04." Elijah said. Elena moved away from Elijah and walked into the bedroom. She had told Damon to meet her at 7:30 and she needed to leave now if she wanted to make it. Elena pulled on some jeans and a nice flowery top. She pulled on a cardigan and a pair of heels and then went on her way.

"I'm meeting with Char at 7:30. I'll be home in a few hours." Elena said as she kissed Elijah's cheek and grabbed her phone and keys. "Love you." Elena left without a reply. The London streets were crowded. Masses of people were walking trying to get home. Elena on the other hand was trying to get away. When Elena got to the restaurant she told Damon to meet her at he was already seated as waiting for her. She was late, almost by 15 minutes. She knew the walk to the restaurant was a long one but she took that into account she just didn't expect so many people to be heading home at 7. Elena took her seat and gave Damon a smile. Damon stared at her for a moment before looking back to his menu.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show." Damon said still reading the menu. Elena glanced out the window they were sitting next to and sighed.

"There were a lot of people out in the streets." Elena said and placed her napkin on her lap. She picked up her menu despite the fact she knew exactly what she wanted. "I wanted to thank you for last night or rather this morning. You didn't have to deal with me. I was a mess. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you and I'm sorry. Most people would ha-."

"Stop Elena." Elena was starting to ramble, it was something she did when she was nervous. Elena looked at Damon who appeared to be slightly pissed. "How can you act one way and then another. This morning I saw the real you and now here you are all guarded. I didn't come here to talk to a hallow woman, I came to talk to my Elena."

"Damon," Elena sighed. "I've already told you, your Elena-"

"Is gone." Damon snapped finishing for her. "I don't believe that, not for a second. When I look in your eyes I see a girl tormented by what she buries. I don't want to know that girl."

"Either you accept me how I am now or-"

"Or what?" Elena was silent as she stared at Damon. "I spent all these years hoping to see you again. I finally gave up and when I saw you last week I told myself I wouldn't get involved again and yet here I am. I refuse to believe that-."

"I'm not broken Damon, stop trying to fix me."

"Do you remember when we first started talking? You told me you'd never give up on me and you didn't. Why should I give up on you now?" Damon's eyes bored into hers and Elena could feel herself growing angry.

"Because I don't love you anymore." Elena said. Damon froze and scoffed a small smile on his face. Damon placed his napkin on the table and stood up. "Damon wait."

"Why? You obviously stopped caring. Why should I care about someone who will never return my feelings?" Damon said. Elena watched him walk away and sighed. In a moment of weakness she raced after him. She latched onto his arm and remained frozen as he turned to glare at her. "What?"

"Why are you so angry?"

"Because you're lying to me and you're lying to yourself." Damon said through gritted teeth. "You don't think I notice you staring at me when you visit Elijah's office or how every time you're near me you get nervous or how after all these years I'm still the cure to your insomnia. That doesn't sound like someone who's moved on." Damon watched Elena. "You can't just move on from a love like ours. As much as I say I'm done I know how easily I can be sucked back in because once you fall in love with somebody you don't ever really stop." Elena didn't respond, she didn't know how to. His words were playing in her brain as his hand came to caress her cheek. Suddenly his lips were against hers as every nerve ending in her body became a live wire. Elena's hands rose up to tangle themselves into Damon's dark locks and Damon's hands wrapped around her waist pulling her flush against him. Elena couldn't think straight all she could think about was his hands on her hips and his lips on her lips. His tongue ran across her bottom lip and Elena instantly allowed him entrance. She sighed softly as he kissed her deeper and harder. She wanted nothing but to never pull away but the sound if a car horn honking pulled her out of their daze. She pulled away from Damon and put some space between the two of them.

* * *

"You wouldn't lie to me right?" Caroline asked sitting down across from Klaus. Klaus raised an eyebrow and shook his head. Caroline took a deep breath and pulled out her file. She set it down in front of Klaus and watched his reaction. Klaus froze and then sighed shutting his laptop and giving his full attention to Caroline.

"You were going through my files?" Klaus asked watching Caroline. She looked hurt and somewhat scared.

"It's my job to look through your files." Caroline stated starting to glare at him. "Why do you have a file on me?"

"I was curious." Klaus said netting her eyes. He was being honest with her, he wanted to know what she was about and what exactly she was hiding from him so he dug a little. "I wanted to see why you were so upset when Damon arrived so I did a bit of digging. Didn't find much."

"You were curious?" Caroline practically spat. Klaus sighed and leaned back in his chair waiting for the scolding that was sure to come. "If you were so curious why didn't you just ask me?"

Klaus watched her for a moment. He knew what he was about to tell her would make her even angrier but she wanted an answer. "I knew you wouldn't tell me anything."

"So you went behind my back?" Caroline scoffed and raised an eyebrow. "You should have respected the fact I didn't want to share that information with you. There's a reason I don't tell anyone."

Klaus nodded and took the file off his desk. He pulled out his lighter and started to burn the edge of the folder. Caroline watched as it caught fire. Klaus watched the fire spread and then dropped it into his waste basket where it continued to burn. "I'm sorry." Caroline watched the file burn and nodded. Her eyes moved to stare into Klaus. She knew he wasn't going to give this up but for right now, she was content.


End file.
